U.S. information-technology giant Hewlett-Packard Co. agreed to settle a stock-options-backdating lawsuit for $117.5 million, a plaintiff law firm said Monday.

NEW YORK - A group of pension funds reached a settlement Monday with Mercury Interactive Corp. for $117.5 million related to the backdating of stock options, the group's law firm said.

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE SAN FRANCISCO - Still grappling with the fallout from a boardroom spying scandal, Hewlett-Packard Co. is now facing a Senate investigation into a stock option debacle that it inherited last year with its $4.9 billion acquisition of software maker Mercury Interactive Corp.

Ten weeks after the long-rumored deal was actually announced, Hewlett Packard Co has closed its $4.5bn acquisition of Mercury Interactive Corp. For now, the company is talking about its messaging and branding plans, holding off more substantive product roadmaps for at least five or six more weeks.

By Anonymous The Deal: Hewlett-Packard Company has agreed to purchase Mercury Interactive Corporation for $52 per share, or about $4.5 billion, in cash. The price represents a premium of 33 percent over Mercury's closing price prior to the deal announcement.